I tried to search for premium monitors with a high-refresh rate, but can only find gaming monitors. What is the HN crowd using? Anyone in the same boat as me and solved it for them?
With that said, I've never used any of the "high-refresh rate" ones and also I'm not really sure what is considered a "high-refresh rate" one (above 60?), but here are some I found:
- https://www.benq.com/en-us/monitor/gaming/ex3210u.html
- https://www.benq.com/en-us/monitor/gaming/ex2780q.html
- https://www.benq.com/en-us/monitor/gaming/ex3415r.html
They are labeled "gaming" monitors, but I think that's just because of the high refresh-rate. Not sure if there is any other difference but some features (like AMD FreeSync), why they avoidance of monitors labeled "gaming" specifically, if I may ask?
Personally I use the Benq Designer panels, because the color is more important for me than the refresh-rate, but those don't seem to be available with high refresh-rate.
Thanks for the links!
1. Long bootup time. You are waiting 30 secs to see the ASUS logo and it to initialize.
2. M1 based machines have trouble initializing/re-initializing them after sleep. This is probably a bug in the monitor or maybe the M1 macs. Its annoying when you combine it with the previous issue because to fix this issue you have to switch to a different input or turn the monitor off and on once a day. I have resorted to setting my sleep delay to 3 hours to prevent it going to sleep.
3. The stands are not always the best: things can get wobbly if you are using a cheap table like an Ikea table.
4. The process of changing input can require multiple key presses depending on model.
5. Many of them have super thin bezels(apart from the large ASUS chin at the bottom): looks great but be careful as if you even place the panel gently face down for a second just to wipe the dust off the back you risk cracking the panel(ask me how I know).
6. Terrible speakers (I guess this was a given but i'll throw it in there)
....but they do ship beautiful panels.
On a side note: I am downright fed up with all these "youtube reviewers" never covering any of these quality of life features. I spend hundreds of dollars just to feel like chump when I get stuck with issues like this, none of which are ever discussed on Youtube. I have been burned so many times that I am considering just writing off their opinions altogether. Anyone else starting to feel like that?
I suspect this is an M1 thing. I just upgraded, and I've noticed some similar, by milder behaviour with my Dell monitors.
When the mac resumes from sleep, it occasionally has forgotten one of the screens, and although it initialises, all my window layout is shifted to one display.
I've also got an Macbook Pro and I decided to buy Acer Nitro XV272UKV for my dual setup but I wouldn't recommend them if someone is about to use them next to each other.
Dell and BenQ are the best brands in my experience.
Its only big drawback (preventing me from buying it) is that I occasionally play competitive games, and that monitor has FreeSync but not G-Sync, and I use an Nvidia GPU.
Some NVidia GPUs support Freesync. https://www.nvidia.com/content/Control-Panel-Help/vLatest/en...
I don't know how they would work on Macs. There are monitors with the exact same specs from multiple manufacturers, and they all seem to use the same Innolux M280DCA-E7B panel. I looked at the equivalent 32" monitors, but a review or two said the 28" ones had less ghosting (AKA 'faster').
I'm 100% satisfied. I wonder when everyone else's ~24" 1080p60 monitors will look old and outdated to me.
Already happened. Have had two 4k monitors for at least five years now, would not go back.
For whatever reasons MacOS or the hardware does not perform well unless you using screens that are near or the same PPI as laptop display. Using a 4k monitor will result in some scaling artifacts.
With that said, I know a lot of people who use 4k monitors with their MBPs with no complaint however I also know the reverse who can't stand it. I'm with the latter camp and use a LG5k which is just an OK monitor but everything is crystal clear.
Given OP thinks his MacBook spoiled him with "high refresh" (its just a standard 60hz panel...), I'm not sure the OP really understands refresh rates in modern monitors! The Dell they already have is almost certainly 60hz too, despite claims the MacBook is faster.
For what its worth, Apple have shipped many MacBook Pros at "non-native" resolutions by default for years, so... The 15 inch for years was a 2880 x 1800 panel, which is only Retina native at an equivalent of 1440x900. Apple shipped them in the non-2x 1680x1050 mode by default.
The same is also true of the current 13inch M1 MacBooks 2560 x 1600 (1280x800 at 2x), but apple run them out of the box at non-2x 1440x900.
All of this is to say not even Apple themselves stick to "2x retina" only resolutions on their own laptop hardware - running a 4k monitor at non-2x retina scales isn't that much different, and most people will be perfectly happy with scaled resolutions on a 4k 27 inch panel or similar in my experience on macOS.
* 4k at 27 inch: 163 ppi
* 5k at 27 inch: 218 ppi
I've ran both 5k and 4k monitors on a variety of macOS machines in the 27inch size class - its not nearly as bad "a whole another story". Its almost exactly the same story - especially as demonstrated Apple don't stick to the "only 2x is retina" plan either.
Yes 5k is better, but 4k is still well above the industry standard of 100ppi for non-retina displays, and will look just fine for most people in macOS rendering the same usable 2560x1440 desktop.
Windows look crispy clear with this display.
Regardless rtings.com is your friend here they have a pretty decent size review db. fwiw - I wouldn't rule out a monitor just because its a "gaming monitor".
So I'm with others - not sure what the OP thinks he's seeing, but the refresh probably isn't as significant as he thinks it is. I think he would have a much greater impact from higher resolution and deeper color coverage than chasing after refresh. Especially if he's not gaming.
Video seems to rarely go over 30 fps and even more rarely over 60 fps. What else involves fast motion? Rearranging windows and icons?
It’s a huge problem how far behind the industry is on developer ergonomics. I had pay for my work monitor out of my own pocket because every place I’ve worked is still stuck with 1920x1080 potato-vision.
It has a picture-in-picture mode too, letting you effectively have two monitors for different inputs should you need that.
- There's no way to get above 60hz.
- Have to use an HDMI connector because the C1 doesn't support thuderbolt or displayport.
- The sound doesn't work for some reason.
- The TV features get in the way a bit, menu overtop of things when you turn it on.
I might get something referenced on this site: https://tonsky.me/blog/monitors-mac/
The nice thing about having expansion ports is you aren't restricted to what Apple bundles with the machine.
A lot of people have tried, and nobody has gotten 4k@120hz working on an M1 over HDMI (or a cable converted to HDMI).
* Samsung Odyssey Neo G9